The Best Laid Plans
by tarot-flair
Summary: Three years after the end of the Second Bloody Valentine War, Athrun has carefully planned and plotted to protect Orb and the PLANTs at all costs. But you know what they say, the best laid plans will often go awry.
1. rivers know this

_Rivers know this:_

_There is no hurry._

_We shall get there some day._

_- A.A. Milne_

_._

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.

_ "It's just going to be a matter of time before the shit hits the fan."_

_ "I'm working hard on avoiding that. You should, too." _

_ "There's only so much we can do. She's not helping matters with that temper."_

_ "What has she done again?"_

_ "We met with the ambassador from the Atlantic Federation last week. Of course, they also wanted an alliance with us. Every nation from here to the Bahamas wants an alliance with us."_

_ "And?"_

_ "I'm sure you can guess the rest. She told them in no uncertain terms where they can stick that idea. They weren't too happy about it."_

_ "It'd be a mistake for her to ally with them too."_

_ "But there are nicer ways of putting it than we're not going to help you attack another nation just because you are greedy and want more territory." _

_ "… She said that?"_

_ "Something to that effect. Let's just say, she's no politician."_

_ "Coming from you, that's almost a compliment."_

* * *

The conference room exploded into blinding light as he took his seat at the long table. Of all people, he ought to be the one accustomed to the flash of cameras and the clamor of the media, but the youngest Supreme Council Chair in the history of the PLANT colonies still found himself having to look away in discomfort. Any official press conference held by the PLANT Supreme Council usually guaranteed a large turnout but one with all twelve Council Members in attendance, including the highly elusive Chairman Zala, inevitably drew an unprecedented amount of attention. Particularly when it concerned the affairs of the impending bloodbath on Earth.

"Chairman Zala, what is your opinion of the current state of emergency in the United Emirates of Orb? The Atlantic Federation, Eurasian Federation, Republic of East Asia and South Africa Union all have their sights set on Orb currently; do you think there is any chance that a common objective might lead to a reformation of the Earth Alliance?" a pale, aristocratic female journalist spoke up eagerly.

Three years after the Second Bloody Valentine War. Everything was different but really, nothing had changed. Blue Cosmos and Logos were names that belonged to the past but new factions had arisen, the various federations on Earth had found new matters to fight over and history continued plodding along, one bloody battle at a time.

Clearing his throat, Athrun began. "I would think that a reformation of the Earth Alliance under the current circumstances is highly improbable. The four main federations of Earth have been at odds with one another ever since the war ended. Even this imminent battle in Orb is merely an extension of their conflict. Orb, as a neutral nation caught in between their quarrels, has our sympathies."

The previous two wars with the PLANTs had so weakened the Earth Alliance superstates that they began turning onto each other. The high ideals purported in the past wars, of preserving a blue and pure world and other such nonsense, were abandoned in a mad scramble for territory, power and resources. Orb, with its strong economy, advanced military and well-educated population, inevitably became a prize to be had. It was not what Athrun had intended.

A bespectacled male journalist raised his hand immediately, obviously eager to follow up on a conversation that Athrun had started. A Natural. Athrun knew of no Coordinators who would leave an elementary flaw such as short-sightedness unchecked.

"Chairman Zala, Orb's position is becoming more and more precarious. Will the PLANTs offer aid to them? You have always been an advocate for non-violence but do you think the PLANTs should intervene and try to restore peace?"

The space colonies had so far been left untouched and the mass media was effusive in its praise of their young, charismatic leader whose diplomacy and political adroitness kept the hungry intruders at bay.

What utter nonsense. Athrun knew better.

It was raw, overwhelming power that kept the ravenous federations away from the PLANTs. He wondered if she had become as jaded as him in these intervening years.

Judging from the latest reports, perhaps not.

He gestured to Lacus who was Chair of the Diplomatic Committee and Representative of Aprilius City to speak. He was a strategist, capable of pulling the strings behind the scenes but when it came to the media, there was a reason why he usually gave them a wide berth.

"At this point in time, we would still like to believe that the conflict can be resolved through peaceful means of diplomacy. If we were to intervene between the various nations, we will only drag the PLANTs into war and escalate the bloodshed needlessly." Lacus' voice was soft-spoken and melodic, but she had always been a compelling orator and the group of media spokesmen listened in solemnity. "As a neutral party in this conflict ourselves, we respect Orb's policy and will do all that is in our power to support it. Orb has officially requested our help and the council has responded with an alliance treaty. We await their favorable response."

Three days ago, Athrun's plans had come into fruition in the form of a simple, white missive laid on his desk.

_Cagalli Yula Athha, Chief Representative of Orb, requests an audience with Chairman Zala of the PLANTs to discuss a possible alliance between the two nations. _

Unbidden, a rare, genuine smile had spread across Athrun's face as he read the message. He prided himself on being an inordinately patient man. After all, he had already waited three years, but the last few weeks had been a true test of his patience. Every morning for the past two weeks, he had woken up early to tune in to the news, bracing himself for news of a significant attack on Orb. When there was none, he would wait with bated breath to hear from her but the stubborn woman had waited until the very last possible moment to request his help.

He knew he was being cruel, but in this game of high stakes, it was imperative that she made the first move.

In return, he summarily denied her request of an audience.

An alliance treaty had already been pre-approved by the Council. There was nothing left to discuss; at least nothing that he wanted to risk discussing with her in person. As expected, the news of a possible alliance between PLANT and Orb had deeply unsettled the media correspondents.

"Don't you think that the Earth federations will also declare war on the PLANTs if this alliance is announced?" A brown-haired, female journalist put aside her heavy camera equipment to pose the question.

When she finally raised her head from the camera, his eyes widened in shock, before he quickly schooled his expression into one of indifference. Miriallia Haw! Ever since the conflict on Earth had escalated into armed combat, it had not been easy to travel to the PLANTs. Miriallia would have to have been in the PLANTs already before the four federations had issued their ultimatum to Orb.

If Lacus was as surprised as he was at her appearance, she showed no signs of it.

"Both Orb and the PLANTs will only attack in self-defense. We will open peace talks and diplomacy with all Earth federations, asking only that Orb and the PLANTs be left alone. It is our hope that the Earth federations will be more willing to compromise with Orb given our support," Lacus replied, deftly sidestepping the real question.

Of course what she really meant was that they were more likely to back off in the face of the combined strength of ZAFT and Orb's military.

"Why are we responding to Orb's request for aid?" a middle-aged man with grey-blond hair said, haughty and full of conviction of the PLANTs' superiority. "Why are we wasting our resources and the lives of our citizens to defend a small nation of islands when we can conserve our energy to wipe them all out after they deplete each other fighting? They even allied themselves in the second war against us!"

There was a collective gasp in the conference room at the man's sheer audacity but, sadly, also a few murmurs of agreement. Three years were not quite long enough to erase decades of hatred.

Athrun made a mental note of the paper he belonged to. After the conference, he would see to it that the man never wrote another word in his professional career. Even among the Supreme Council, Athrun knew there were enough people who shared the journalist's radical, extremist opinion. That the PLANTs and their genetically superior Coordinators could and _should_ conquer and dominate Earth. For the sake of mankind, of course.

"So are we to repeat the same mistake they made and abandon them in their time of need?" Lacus said softly, with the barest hint of disappointment and Athrun knew many of them immediately felt chastised. He should know; he had been at the receiving end of that particular tone of voice quite a few times. "Historically, Orb has always been an admirable nation. They welcomed Coordinators even when we were despised on Earth and do not discriminate between Coordinators and Naturals. They were instrumental in restoring peace in both previous wars. We must support them now or Earth will only spiral further into war." Lacus left the rest unspoken. _Who do you think will be their next target after they destroy Orb? _

"I think you should be careful with your words," his National Defense Committee Chair, Yzak Joule said to the journalist who had previously hinted at the PLANTs' desire for world conquest. His tone was low and threatening and Athrun could sense the menace seething dangerously just below the surface. These few years had managed to provide a more respectable façade for Yzak's infamous wrath and only a few, selected individuals ever got to see his true colors now. A pity that Athrun was part of that exclusive group.

"PLANT will never seek to expand to Earth. Why should we when space has been our motherland for so long?" Yzak scowled hard at the group of media personnel and his eyes promised swift and sure vengeance if they dared contradict him.

Athrun had anticipated this, which was why more than a year ago, once he had acquired enough power and influence, he had begun paving the road to an alliance with Orb. He had deliberately started his political career in National Defense and at his suggestion, or rather _gentle coercion_, relocated a few of ZAFT's top engineers to Orb, or more specifically, Morgenroete.

They were essentially still on ZAFT's payroll and presumably serving as spies but with his approval, they were allowed to make significant contributions to Orb's defense and was probably the main reason Orb eventually came to possess weapons much more advanced than the other Earth nations.

He did it so that Orb could be capable of defending itself; because he knew she was too idealistic to want to take part in the arms race and also because he knew that he would need a more tangible reason to ally PLANT with Orb in the future.

What he hadn't counted upon was the development of a weapon capable of completely destroying the PLANTs.

They called it the Close-Combat Hyper Atom Re-dispersive Offensive Neutralization. Or for short, CHARON. How ironically apt.

Only effective in space, the weapon employed a directed energy beam, scaled into the warhead of a missile and upon "detonation" created a field in which the bonds between all atoms were disrupted and all molecules were destroyed. It could destroy something as small as an enemy spacecraft, or even something as large as an entire colony. But there was one crucial downfall. CHARON could only be deployed at very close range and as far as Athrun knew, the engineers at Morgenroete had yet to find a way around the problem.

Few people knew of its existence but suffice to say, the weapon alone had quickly convinced the Supreme Council to try and gain control and access to Orb. There was first outrage that Orb had even dared to develop a weapon of such magnitude but it had been quickly outweighed by the urgency to take control of it. If the weapon ever fell into the hands of any of the other Earth federations… Athrun could not imagine the consequences. If his selfish plan indirectly led to the destruction of the PLANTs…

There was no way he was ever going to allow that to happen.

Most of the Supreme Council had rapidly agreed to the alliance treaty, including the clause that Athrun had added, when they found out about the terrifying weapon that Orb possessed. Some of them had even mentioned how self-sacrificing their Chairman was in providing additional insurance for the survival of the space colonies. Yzak, however, had just laughed in his face when he read about the conditions of the treaty.

The Supreme Council members took a few more questions and finally, the press event was wrapped up in an hour.

He searched for Miriallia right after the conference ended but she was nowhere to be found and Athrun almost wondered if he had just imagined her face appearing in the crowd.

"Looking for her?" Lacus interrupted his thoughts, putting an end to his doubt.

"You saw her too, then. What is she doing in the PLANTs at this time?"

Lacus shrugged. "I don't always know everything."

He was about to express his incredulity at that statement when his cellphone rang shrilly.

"Chairman Zala, Captain Yamato is seeking clearance to depart from December City." A pause and he could distinctly hear the man clearing his throat uncomfortably. "Again."

Of course, he was. That would make it the lucky thirteenth time in the last week that Kira had attempted to travel to Orb. He was hardly surprised; in fact, he had expected his childhood friend would already have defied the rules of his lockdown to charge to Earth in rescue of his twin. He knew he was going to have hell to pay when he next met the overprotective brother, but right now, he couldn't have him messing up his plans.

"Continue surveillance. Under no circumstances will he be allowed to leave the city. You have my permission to detain him physically if need be."

Athrun briefly felt a twinge of guilt as he hung up. Kira must be worried sick but even if he was just one man, Athrun knew what a formidable foe he could be if allowed to go to Orb. Kira could delay his plan to save Orb by weeks and that was a risk he did not want to take.

"I know you have good intentions, Athrun. But you are not being very fair to Kira." Lacus regarded him with deeply disapproving eyes.

"I'm sorry. I trust Kira completely but you know how he will react to this. When the time is right, I'll tell him everything." Athrun ran a hand slowly down his face, feeling absolutely exasperated at the situation.

"When would be the right time? At the wedding?" Sarcasm was not something the former pop idol usually indulged in. She must be under more pressure from Kira than she had let on.

"Lacus, you know if there was any other way around this, I would have tried it. You've seen all the same reports that I have. This is for her own good!"

Her eyes softened slightly and a shadow of a smile played around her lips. "Are you sure it's just for Cagalli's benefit?"

"Yes, she won't like it, but she'll come to see that it's the best for Orb."

"I hope so, Athrun. I really hope so."

* * *

Athrun retreated to his personal office where he tuned in to the news on his transmission panel. He was unsurprised to be immediately greeted with a repeat broadcast of her speech regarding the ultimatum issued by the other Earth federations. Orb's predicament and the escalation of war on Earth were all the media could talk about recently.

_"This is Chief Representative of Orb, Cagalli Yula Athha, releasing our official statement on the war between the four federations of the Atlantic, South Africa, East Asia and Eurasia." _

Even though video, he could see the vague shadows under her eyes and the pallor of her skin. The war had no doubt taken its toll on her.

_"As many of you may know, a week ago, the Atlantic Federation launched an attack on our islands of Ishigaki and Yaeyama. Three days ago, the Federation of Eurasia tried to invade our main civilian islands of Ryukyu and Miyako." _

She paused and took a sharp inhalation of breath.

_ "Yesterday, the South African Federation attacked Onogoro Island, our military base. Despite our many attempts at diplomacy, these countries have repeatedly chosen to exert violence and force against us. We have said it before, and we will say it again – Orb is a neutral nation that only desires peace. We do not attack other countries but we will not allow ourselves to be attacked!"_

Her eyes were golden, bright and fierce as she leaned forward in earnest. The fire had not burned itself out. He could see a shadow of her former self; foolishly brave, painfully direct but always, _always_ inspiring.

_"We are a small nation but our people are brave and we will protect our land to the very end. Orb will not bow down to bullies who seek to oppress other states. But we will extend our offer of peace one last time and hope that they will reconsider. Have we not learned anything from our previous conflicts?"_

Cagalli looked directly into the camera, her gaze a silent entreaty and just like that, quite abruptly, the newsfeed cut into a commentary on Orb's response and the current emergency situation. Her speech, as usual, lacked eloquence and pomp because unlike most politicians, Cagalli generally detested reading from a prepared, rehearsed script. As his insider in Orb had said, she was no politician.

It had already been three days and he had yet to receive a reply on the PLANTs' alliance treaty draft. He smiled and shook his head, settling into his seat with a sigh. He had to give it to her – she was nothing if not stubborn.

Her sheer pigheadedness was one of the reasons why he had avoided her completely ever since he left Orb during the second Bloody Valentine War. It would have been utterly useless to try and convince her that it was even remotely possible to have a life outside of running a country.

Athrun wasn't sure he could convince himself on that but he'd be damned if he went back to being the bodyguard of the princess. Two years of watching her flounder in her insecurities and beset by the repulsive Seirans yet unable to do anything was more than enough. Alex Dino was a lowly bodyguard who did not have the power to prevent the second razing of Orb during the second war. But Chairman Athrun Zala of the PLANTs could and would prevent this third attack on Orb.

He knew that she saw herself as a failure after the second war and the ensuing three years had proven him right. If Representative Athha had simply been devoted to Orb before the war, after the war, she was now quite literally the face of her nation. She had used the substantial fortunes of the Athha family to rebuild her country. While he had Lacus as his diplomatic front, Yzak the military and Canaver for civil matters, Athha took it upon herself to do every single, damned thing.

Orb and its princess were inseparable. It was a simple equation; if he wanted the woman, he was just going to have to take the country with her.

And so he had done just that. All that was left to do was wait for her to succumb to the inevitable; sacrifice herself for her country like she always did and would always do. He'd like to think the Chairman of the PLANTs presented a better option this time around.

She would sign it. She would have to. Sign the alliance treaty and seal it with a marriage between the last remaining Princess of Orb and the Chairman of the PLANTs.

It was just a matter of time. He was in no hurry.

* * *

**KEY:** In Greek mythology, Charon is the ferryman of Hades who carries souls of the deceased across the river Styx.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **I had a long note in mind when writing this chapter; explaining how _The Best Laid Plans_ is vastly different from _A New Dawn _and making up excuses for why _A New Dawn_ has yet to be updated and I'm starting a new story etc. But now that I've gotten around to uploading this, I'm tired and still have loads of work to do for the remainder of the night, so I've gotten too lazy to write what I wanted to say. In short, this is kind of my apology for not being able to complete _A New Dawn_. Despite my best efforts, there are a lot of plot holes in _A New Dawn_ that I'm unable to resolve to my satisfaction. The casual reader probably doesn't realize it but I do... and it bothers me a lot. This, however, is vastly different because each chapter has already been plotted out all the way to its end. So if you've enjoyed reading _A New Dawn_, I hope you'll follow me on this too.

Lastly, please R&R.

_Special thanks to my beta readers Strata-Assassin (especially for coming up with the suggestion for naming the weapon CHARON!) and Quintilis. _


	2. would you live?

_No one has ever doubted you would die for those you love._

_The question then becomes,_

_Would you live?_

_- Elizabeth Issacs_

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.

.

"I thought you said we had to keep your visit here a secret," Dearka Elsman, Commander of the Elsman-Squad remarked casually while pouring out a cup of tea for his arbitrarily routine visitor.

"I did," Mirialla shrugged noncommittally, head still bent over her laptop and fingers flying furiously over the keyboard.

"In case you haven't noticed, you just blew your cover in that press conference." Two cubes of sugar, a touch of milk and one quick stir – Dearka made the cup of strong Earl Grey with practiced ease and a sense of familiarity, the delicate porcelain teacup a strange juxtaposition in a blatantly obvious bachelor's pad of sleek minimalism. Setting the tea down next to her laptop on the coffee table, he flopped onto the couch with nonchalant grace, left knee grazing her right elbow.

"Hmm, yeah so I did," the infuriating woman replied absentmindedly, eyes never leaving her computer screen. Those authors who wrote books on how men had a one-track mind and women were capable of multi-tasking had obviously never met Mirialla Haw. She was annoyingly good at tuning anyone and everything out once focused on something. Or rather, she was just very good at pretending to. While being ignored usually didn't sit well with him, it allowed him liberties such as snaking an arm around her and peering over her shoulder onto the screen.

"… As tensions escalate on Earth and the world seems once again poised on the precipice of war, the previously self-isolated space colonies of the PLANTs have made an unlikely announcement of a potential alliance with the beleaguered nation of Orb. Throughout his tenure, Chairman Zala's policies have always sought to—"

"Did I say you could snoop at my writing?" Miriallia said blandly, despite the distinct undertone of threat in her question. She snapped her laptop shut with an audible click and Dearka immediately withdrew his arm with a well-honed sense of preservation.

"Woah, hold it there with your accusations. It's not technically snooping if I did it right in front of you." Dearka placated, holding his hands in front of him protectively as if wary of her taking a swing at him with her laptop. Of course, she wasn't likely to risk damage to her precious device but physical violence was still a very real threat.

"I don't like you reading my articles, _especially_ not out loud." She sounded a lot more irritated than before but she had also started sipping from her cup of tea. If past experiences still held true, she was only truly lethal when she didn't sound angry at all.

"What does it matter? It'll be published soon anyway and seeing as how you were one of the few journalists from Earth to receive a visa to the PLANTs _and_ an invite to the press conference, thanks to a certain someone," Dearka paused and cleared his throat meaningfully, "your article will spread like wildfire and I'll have it quoted to me by someone or another pretty soon."

"It matters because that will happen when I'm not around and I won't have to listen to my own words." Miriallia said, setting the cup down and leaning back into the couch with a loud 'oof', entirely unconcerned that she had just crushed Dearka's arm under her back. Not that Dearka particularly minded it himself.

"Don't you like what you write?" he asked, genuinely bewildered. He thought she liked her job; wielding the pen like he did a mobile suit, exposing conspiracies and bringing justice. She had gained quite the reputation for the brutal reality of her photography and the impartiality of her writing.

Miriallia sighed loudly and moments passed without a word as she folded her legs and sat comfortably cross-legged on his couch. Living out of a suitcase for the better part of a year, she had long since given up on any sense of belonging she might have had for her apartment back in Orb. Privately, she suspected that she spent more time at Dearka's than at her own apartment simply because while she only had to deal with him in the PLANTs, back in Orb, she'd have to deal with the overzealous concern of her family, friends _and_ her editor. "I like writing, I just don't always like what I write to be published," she finally said, with a vague sense of frustration at the inevitability of having to explain her odd statement.

"You mean your articles aren't always what you truly believe in?" Dearka said, with a palpable sense of surprise. "I thought you've always been insistent on showing your readers the truth."

"I am! I've been writing and photographing nothing but the truth! But somehow, the true stories have just gotten more and more negative. It's almost like my readers, my editor, have come to expect that of me." Miriallia ran slightly trembling fingers through her hair. She had had this nagging suspicion for the past year, that whether knowingly or unknowingly, she nosed for the darkest conspiracies, covered the most shocking stories, but it'd be the first time vocalizing it to someone else.

"It's because that's just how the world is. It's not a very pretty place," Dearka said, tightening his arm around her so that her head fell onto his shoulders.

"I don't really want to write bad things about Athrun or the PLANTs. It's not the Athrun you and I know. I don't want to write about my suspicions about this alliance with Orb. What good does it all do? My writing, my photography, my opinion; they don't bring any peace, or help people understand one another better." Miriallia's words came out muffled and disjointed, a fevered whisper against his collarbone.

"But you have to Miri. If it's the truth, people deserve to know it." Dearka said with utter conviction. He pressed a kiss to her forehead soothingly and cocooned in the circle of his arms and his complete faith in her, Miriallia desperately wanted to believe it.

* * *

"Lady Cagalli, we don't have much time," Kalen Caldwell, the minister of Administration and Governance said. She sounded exhausted, resigned. She wasn't the only one.

All of them were. The council of the United Emirates of Orb had been holed up in the command room of the National Defense headquarters for the past three days. Someone had brought in food, but Cagalli didn't remember eating. She must have slept sometime in the past three days, but she couldn't remember when either. Just because night fell didn't mean that the attacks let up. The pack of wolves snarling at their doorstep was ruthless and relentless in seeking an opening in their defense.

So far, they had yet to succeed, but Cagalli knew it was just a matter of time.

Orb was a nation of scattered islands in the Pacific that numbered in the hundreds. Not all of them were inhabited or even utilized, but still, it made for difficult terrain to defend. She had ordered the evacuation of all the civilians in the far-flung islands, choosing to concentrate their defense in the main islands of Ryukyu, Miyako and Onogoro. Yaeyama had been lost yesterday, or rather, she had ceded the island to the Atlantic Federation because it was of little strategic advantage and all of its inhabitants had already been evacuated. Still, it had been a difficult decision to give up any part of their territory, even if she knew it was the militarily right judgement. Land and Orb's pride were important, but right now, her priority was for the people. Every additional soldier they could send to the main islands meant that one extra defense against their invaders.

It was a testament of how far Orb's military had come, that none of the main islands had yet to sustain any damage, but each time the enemy advanced another mile within their territory, Cagalli's heart leapt into her throat.

Orb's defense forces were not going to be able to hold them off forever. They knew it and their enemies knew it, which was why they had not been throwing their full force at Orb but instead, wearing them down slowly through constant barrages. In all senses of the word, it was a siege.

After all, their objective was to gain Orb's power and resources and a destroyed, defeated nation was of little use to them. The opportunistic bastards wanted to pressure her into a willing surrender. It'd be the last thing she'd ever do.

The council had explored every single possible avenue. They had contacted the last remaining moderate factions on Earth; the Kingdom of Scandinavia and the Equatorial Union for help but it had been merely a routine exercise in futility. Even if they were willing to come to Orb's aid, they were too weak to make a difference. It would only extend the inevitable for maybe a week or two. As it was, they were too afraid to pledge any support.

They had tried opening peace talks with the four federations. It had been yet another blow to Orb's pride to extend peace treaties to them with ridiculously favorable terms; territories, raw materials, trading rights. The one thing she could not compromise on was the exchange of military technology. They had refused her. After all, why settle for less when they could have all?

"Lady Cagalli," Kio Hirano, her admiral of National Defense began. "I think it's time we consider their offer," he said, gesturing to the white folder sitting innocuously in the center of the table.

"Between the PLANTs and those… those bastards! I don't really see any choice." Kalen banged a fist on the table and feeling listlessly detached from the situation, Cagalli briefly wondered if that had been what she looked like in the past, bringing all of her fury and thunder to the table.

"But we will still be giving up our sovereignty! The PLANTs might seem like the lesser evil right now but five, ten years later, what will Orb become under the control of the space colonies?" Abel Tyrell, the often overly dramatic head of Internal Security lamented, throwing up his hands in despair.

"If we don't ally with the PLANTs now, there won't be an Orb five, ten years later, you fool," Nicola Westerland, an aristocratic Coordinator in his early thirties, said icily. Westerland was the very first Coordinator in the history of Orb to be elected by popular vote into office, despite the fact that nearly twenty percent of Orb's population had been Coordinator for the past six years. It was an encouraging sign of the changing times, but a large part of it could also be attributed to the support he had received from Cagalli during his run for election.

"Of course you would be happy to be integrated with the space colonies! It's where you came from, anyway!" Abel retorted sharply. "Think about us Naturals, if we become one with the PLANTs, Coordinators will outnumber us a hundred to one!"

"That's not even the issue here, Abel," Kio said tiredly, rubbing his temples. "It's not about Coordinators or Naturals. The Earth federations have no shortage of Naturals, would you want to be allied with them?"

"We could try sending them another draft of this treaty," Nicola interrupted. "Offer to pay tribute for the next fifty years or cede them our colonies in space."

Kalen shook her head in exasperation. "You saw what the communications said. To quote Zala, take it or leave it. Besides we don't have enough time, anyway."

Abel stood up in frustration, the movement of his chair sending a screeching sound reverberating across the room. Cagalli's head throbbed painfully. He picked up the offending white document in the center of the table that had been left untouched for the past two days as everyone mulled over the consequences of what had been written, and flipped furiously through it until he came to the part all of them were arguing over.

Cagalli felt like she was watching him through a thick body of water; blurry, unfocused and so distant. She wanted to get up and stop him from reading it out loud and verbalizing what she wanted to deny, but she was too slow. He had already begun.

"Clause 17: The terms and conditions of this treaty of alliance between Orb and the PLANTs will only be binding upon the official and legal marriage between the Princess of Orb, Cagalli Yula Athha, and the current Chairman of the PLANTs, Athrun Zala. Under Orb's laws of noble matrimony, the Princess' husband will automatically acquire a seat on the governing Council. All agreements stated in this treaty will be made null and void if this clause is violated in any manner." Abel finished in a rush and slammed the document indignantly back onto the table.

"This is ridiculous!" he raged. "He's obviously taking advantage of the situation!"

"Not completely," Alejandra Querry, minister of Foreign Policy, said quietly. Soft-spoken and petite, her mild appearance belied a keen intelligence and she was usually the gentle and charming foil to Cagalli's fiery bluntness. "It could have been a lot worse. The PLANTs hold all of the cards and they know it. Besides, it's not like we are becoming a direct colony of the PLANTs."

"I agree with Alejandra," Westerland chimed in. "We're mostly only required to relax our immigration laws for PLANT citizens, open free trade and allow them the use of our Earth-based military installations. Compared to being a satellite state of any of those federations beating on our doorstep, I vote going with the PLANTs."

"But we'll be allowing Athrun Zala into our executive government," Chiyo Ashford, the minister of Civil Affairs finally spoke up, pushing her glasses up nervously. Young and untried, she had largely been elected because of the immense sum of money her family had poured into her campaign. That, and the fact that her father had died tragically defending Orb during the second war. The media had milked the story for all it was worth. Cagalli knew she ought to be more objective but all of that combined with Chiyo's general ineptness was a constant source of irritation and she couldn't help but actively dislike the girl. "I mean… he's the son of Patrick Zala!" Chiyo continued.

"And so?" Cagalli finally spoke up, her voice dangerously silky. Three years of relative peace, with the PLANTs not showing the least desire for conquest and she could still have a member of her Council voicing such irrational prejudice!

Quaking slightly under the gaze of Cagalli's intense golden eyes, Chiyo shifted anxiously on her seat, obviously reluctant to put the wrong foot forward with their mercurial leader. Faced with an expectant silence, she finally stammered, "I meant… that he's not even an Orb citizen and aside from the noble families, our ministers have always been elected by the people." That seemed like a safe enough answer, without broaching into the precarious territory of mentioning the PLANTs' previous Natural-hating, genocidal Chairman. Cagalli averted her gaze and Chiyo breathed an audible sigh of relief at being let off the hook.

"He's one vote against the eight of us. I don't see a problem with that," Lance Kinsley, the minister of Trade said, toying absentmindedly with a lock of sleek, dark brown hair. Pleasantly good-looking, he was amiable, generally easy-going and that was about it. Completely forgettable and not always interested in his work, Cagalli suspected that he had won his election solely by charming the impressionable teenage girls of Orb. Lance usually voted in favor of the majority and Cagalli sometimes wondered if he even paid attention to the proceedings of their Council meetings. Regardless, he wasn't usually much of an annoyance.

"I don't understand why he's doing this. We just wanted a temporary alliance against the Earth federations beating on our door," Caldwell said. "We were allies at the end of both wars!"

"Athrun Zala didn't rise to become the youngest Supreme Council Chair on his kindness and goodwill," Abel scoffed.

"Do you think he knows about the weapon?" Nicola said softly and suddenly.

A chill settled over the command room. Although the communications control personnel sitting in front of the screens could not have heard his question, the already high tension in the room had heightened even further at his words and they turned to stare quizzically at the council members gathered around the table.

"That is highly confidential, and not a topic for discussion," Cagalli finally said, her voice stern and flat. Only a handful of people in the world knew about the terrifying weapon that the council had voted to hide in a specially constructed, impenetrable facility under the Athha manor itself, and most of those people were sitting right here. But it was still a secret of such great magnitude that she could not risk anyone else learning of it.

If Cagalli had hated her father for harboring the advanced GAT-X mobile suits in Heliopolis that sparked the first war, she didn't know what he would say if he found out about the weapon technology she was hiding under their mansion.

Anxiety was evident on every face huddled around the table and Cagalli could only imagine what everyone was thinking. If Athrun knew about the weapon they were hiding, his treaty would make perfect sense. Along with Orb, the weapon would fall into his hands. Now, this wasn't Cagalli's biggest concern. After all, it was only effective in space and the PLANTs had by far, the biggest presence in space and were not likely to use it on themselves. What Cagalli was more afraid of was that Athrun didn't know about it and if Orb accepted the treaty and somehow the space colonies were to find out about the weapon, all hell would break loose and she couldn't be certain of the judgment they would inflict on Orb. And what she was most deathly afraid of was the weapon falling into the hands of any of the Earth federations.

It was an utterly hopeless situation. No matter how she chose to move, Orb stood to lose at every turn.

"Cagalli!" A voice broken by static was summoning her urgently from the battlefield.

She whirled around quickly to face the giant wall-to-wall computer screens that showed every angle of the battlefield. There was only one person who would have the audacity to address her so casually and she had to consciously suppress the urge to yell at him. She had told him _many_ times never to call her by her first name in front of her council but she supposed it was an improvement from the various derogatory forms of "You!" that he had used to refer to her in the past.

"This is Commander Athha. What is the update?" Orb's top ace pilot and unreformed wild card, Shinn Asuka, looked very agitated and she had a bad premonition that something awful was about to happen.

"Cagalli, they are joining forces." He addressed her directly, as if all the others who sat in the same command room as her did not matter at all, but she didn't care to reprimand him. "The Atlantic Federation's navy, the Eurasian air forces and the South African mobile armors are all amassing at the south beach of Ryukyu. Strangely, the East Asian forces have retreated." He flew straight across the water so that his surveillance camera captured the live footage of the army assembled barely ten miles off the shores of Ryukyu Island.

_Oh my god. _

All the color drained from her face and she felt a wave of nausea hit her hard in the stomach. Twelve battleships, five carrier ships, hundreds of mobile suits and countless more mobile armors and warplanes dotted the sky like the gnats swarming over a fresh corpse.

She was going to be sick.

It was a calculated attack. They were going to force her to surrender by invading a mostly civilian region. And they were well-aware the beach was the most vulnerable and difficult to defend spot of Ryukyu. The beach stretched along for miles – even if Orb concentrated all of its defensive forces on it, if their enemies were determined enough, some would inevitably slip through. Only a few needed to make it through their defense line and buildings would burn, lives would be lost. Lives like Shinn's family. And it would be her fault again because she had not surrendered in time and wanted to uphold her foolish, unrealistic ideals.

She could not let this flimsy house of cards that she had painstakingly rebuilt over the years topple again. Shinn and she, the ones who have watched their country and the people they loved burn before their very eyes; they were hopelessly weak of heart. And she was the weakest of them all.

"Abel." Tears pricked the back of her eyes and she felt the weight of the inevitable settle over her. "Bring me the treaty," she commanded.

_Cagalli Y. Athha _

_Chief Representative of Orb, dated 79.8.19_

Her signature was neat and precise. And with that, she signed over Orb.

She brusquely handed the signed document back to Abel. "Get this to the PLANTs. Open a communication channel and request, no _demand_ to speak to Chairman Zala directly. Tell him to send reinforcements." She turned back to the battlefield, her mind running rapidly through the squadrons available for immediate deployment. They could maybe defend the island for four hours, with a little luck, up to six hours.

"But Lady Cagalli!" Several of her council members echoed in unison, staring in horror at the immense number of troops gathered just outside of Orb's coastal borders. Even if the East Asian Republic had seemingly withdrawn their forces, there were still more than enough enemy troops to bring down Orb.

"They won't make it in time!" Abel exclaimed, speaking for all of them.

Cagalli only said, with a bitter chuckle, "then you don't know Athrun Zala."

* * *

_Aprilius City, PLANT Supreme Council Headquarters_

"Mr. Chairman, they've signed it," his aide said, proffering a transmittal. "The National Defense Headquarters of Orb is requesting a direct communication channel to you," she added. "Would you like to take it?"

"Yes, set one up. I'll take it." He accepted the document, skimming over most of the pages until he arrived at the final page with her careful signature scrawled at the bottom.

Withdrawing his personal vidphone, he dialed his Chair of National Defense. He was not going to be pleased. A moment later, the default belligerent face of one Yzak Joule flickered onto his screen.

"Release him," he said without preamble. "Your team is going with him to Orb. Earth Fleet One and Two are on standby mode and ready to depart at your command. Freedom is already loaded. You have ten minutes to deploy you and your team's mobile suits."

"They've made their move?" His eyes were narrowed and a telltale vein was already beginning to pulse ominously on his forehead.

"Yes, you'll be happy to know that you're overall in charge of this mission. I don't trust Kira to think rationally on this."

If it was ever possible to snort elegantly, Yzak managed it. "Good choice, I'll grant you that."

Athrun glanced at the reports he had been receiving continuously ever since Orb had been taken under siege. "They've deployed a good amount of their forces. Orb won't hold past six hours. Get there by four."

"They are already loading the mobile suits as we speak. Don't you just wish you were the one saving the damsel in distress?" Yzak said with a smirk. With one last insolent salute, he was gone.

Athrun closed the link. It'd be frustrating to sit here and wait but he had had a lot of practice waiting and this would be the final stretch.

* * *

**KEY:**

Cagalli Yula Athha – chief Representative

Alejandra Querry – minister of Foreign Policy

Abel Tyrrell – minister of Internal Security

Kalen Caldwell – minister of Administration and Governance

Kio Hirano – minister of National Defense

Nicola Westerland – minister of Finance

Lance Kinsley – minister of Trade

Chiyo Ashford – minister of Civil Affairs

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

I know that was an awful lot of OCs to get through in one chapter - I apologize for that. It's just that according to canon, there were 8 council members for Orb and to be as realistic as possible, I felt that I had to include every last one of them. Don't worry about remembering them all; most of these OCs will not feature greatly in subsequent chapters. The few that are indeed important will be further developed and you'll be reminded accordingly of them.

I'm also really sorry this chapter came so late, despite being mostly written for the last month. While I wish I wrote fanfiction for a living, the sad reality is that I don't. I also had family visit for the last two weeks and that seriously cramped my midnight-coffee-fueled writing style. But thanks to your reviews and the polite nudging from one reader, I got off my lazy butt and posted this chapter.

I also wanted to clarify my characterization of Athrun in this story. Several readers mentioned that they don't like this manipulative, scheming Athrun and I suspect it's largely because he seems different from canon representation. For now. I just wanted to point out that this characterization was actually inspired by a particular episode in GSD, in which Lacus, Meyrin, Kira and Athrun went to Copernicus City to meet with Meer. It's been a while since I watched that episode but I remember being struck by how controlling and opinionated Athrun's behavior was, especially towards Kira with regards to Lacus' safety. Given his actions throughout GSD, I think it's safe to say that Athrun's a character who's willing to commit some ambiguously bad things for the (presumed) greater good. He's also definitely not above enforcing his beliefs on other people because he's so convinced that he's right. Hence, I didn't think he was _that_ OOC in this story, but feel free to convince me otherwise. Mostly, I still like to keep to canon characterizations.

I personally haven't read any arranged-marriage GS fic, but I've been made aware by a reader (not very nicely but it's ok) of how cliched this arranged marriage plot is. All I can say is... it won't be fluffy. If you're hoping for a happily-ever-after, married-life story, please stop reading now. Aside from the fact that I'm grossly terrible at writing fluff, this arranged marriage _thing _is merely a plot device. Yeah, just wanted to put that upfront in case you had any unrealistic expectations.

As always, please R&R. Your reviews make it easier for me to choose between actually using my brain and writing instead of brainlessly watching more anime! I know I'm pretty late to the game but I've recently discovered the miracle of Code Geass and omgosh - I'm so sorry Athrun, but Lelouch has just replaced you as my all-time favorite male anime character! On a side note, has anyone watched the Code Geass spinoff - Boukoku no Akito? Oh my... the animation! The horribly disquieting background music! Akito! C.C.'s cameo in episode 2! Yeah, I'm sorry but I've fallen pretty hard. If you haven't watched it, go watch it now and then come back to review. No wait, review and then go and watch it!


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